Gigya, a provider of social infrastructure for business,oday officially launched its SocialPrivacy Certification program that will enable businesses to verify that they follow approved social network guidelines and industry best practices for managing consumer social data.

Businesses can become certified after a thorough audit by Gigya to determine that they partake in fair social data marketing practices. In particular, they must follow the following four principles to gain SocialPrivacy Certification:

they will not sell user social data;

they will not post to social feeds without explicit permissions;

they will not engage in social data-based email marketing campaigns without user permissions; and

they will not send private messages to friends without permission.

Once businesses are certified, they can display the Gigya SocialPrivacy Certification Seal in the login flow on their Web sites to transparently inform users how their social data will be used. In testing, use of the SocialPrivacy Certification Seal has shown an increase in social login conversion rates of 15 percent.

The Future of Privacy Forum collaborated with Gigya to create the specific requirements for SocialPrivacy Certification. FPF Director Jules Polonetsky will serve as chairman of the Gigya Privacy and Safety Advisory Board, established in part to provide expert guidance on privacy and safety best practices for Gigya and its clients.

Leading online businesses, including Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, LUSH Cosmetics, Finish Line (Run.com), and The Globe and Mail are Gigya SocialPrivacy Certification launch partners, and will be implementing the SocialPrivacy Certification Seal in the coming months.

Gigya launched SocialPrivacy Certification in conjunction with the release of new social login privacy survey results. The survey results indicate that, while social login usage is high, consumers are confused about social data collection practices. Users are also more apt to login with their social identities if sites explain how their profile data will be collected and used. The survey, conducted by SurveyMonkey on behalf of Gigya, questioned more than 2,600 U.S. consumers 18 and older, and found that:

More than half of consumers have logged into an application or Web site using their social login.

Of consumers who have opted not to use social login, 40 percent say it is because they do not know what will happen to their personal information, and 41 percent say they are unsure if the site or application would post or share without asking for permission.

Forty-nine percent of consumers said they would be more comfortable using social login if presented with a short, clear message informing them what information is being collected by the Web site.

Similarly, 37 percent of consumers indicated that they would be more comfortable using social login if presented with a badge or seal from an independent organization that promises that the Web site or mobile app will follow the social network's privacy restrictions for how it uses their information on a site.

"As sites look to leverage permission-based social data to power their marketing efforts, they must ensure that they follow the strict guidelines outlined by the social networks and other social data collection best practices," Polonetsky said in a statement. "Gigya has taken a critical step in ensuring that businesses abide by these guidelines and, in doing so, is helping create a safer, more transparent Web for businesses and consumers."

"Consumers clearly prefer to use social login in many settings because it allows them to login quickly and securely without creating new credentials," said Patrick Salyer, CEO of Gigya, in the statement. "Yet we've also seen that those users want transparency around how their information is being collected and used. With SocialPrivacy Certification, we are bridging the gap by letting consumers know which sites have proved that their data is being used responsibly."